What The Cardinals Release Of Lyle Sendlein Means
The Arizona Cardinals continued to change the look of their roster on Thursday when they released veteran Lyle Sendlein.
One of the longest-tenured guys on the Cardinals roster, Sendlein was signed by the team as an undrafted rookie of Texas. A team captain in four different seasons (2010-2014, 2014), the 30-year-old played in 119 games for Arizona, 109 of which were starts.
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A fan favorite and one of the most well liked guys in the locker room, the former Longhorn has had a solid career, although he struggled last season. According to ProFootballFocus, Sendlein was ranked 40th out of 41 centers in 2014.
Releasing Sendlein does help the Cardinals financially. The move frees up more than $3 million in cap space for the coming season, which has been one of the top priorities of general manager Steve Keim this offseason.
There’s a chance that Sendlein could return if he doesn’t receive a worthy offer from a different team. Although the same thing was said about Darnell Dockett and he decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.
If Sendlein does not return, the Cardinals should be more than okay considering the depth they have at the center and guard positions.
The team signed guard/center A.Q. Shipley on Wednesday. Having started 19 games over the last three years, Shipley allowed zero sacks and only three QB hits in 440 snaps last season. With those numbers and the fact that Shipley is two years younger, he’s an upgrade over Sendlein.
Shipley will likely compete with veteran Ted Larsen for the starting center position. In 2014, Larsen played both guards with injuries to both Jonathan Cooper and Paul Fanaika and did a pretty solid job for the most part.
Look for that position to be one of most interesting training camp battles to watch.
As for Sendlein, it’s tough to see him go. He’s been an important part to this team both on and off the field for so many years now and it’s going to be weird to see him in a different uniform next season.
It was time to move on from him though. Not only do the Cardinals save money in the process, but the center position should be improved in 2015.